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Unread 03-24-2008, 07:00 PM
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If you're a motorcycle riders you're going to crash. That's just how it is.

Lesson for the day: Setup your suspension before you go out and nail it. Oh and wear some kevlar jeans of leather pants no matter what. $100 Frame sliders also saved me a HUGE amount of money in repairs.

So I met some friends for a "casual" ride. I JUST finished putting on some new OZ rims and Ohlins suspension- upgrading my RSV to RSVR status. WOW what a difference. I probably got 3 short rides in the week before just to warm up the oil for a change and to service the brakes. Everything was check out but the suspension was too soft up front and I just told myself I wouldn't practice any wheelies for a while so I wouldn't have to worry about bottoming out.

Fast forward to Sunday. I FINALLY got the day off for a morning ride with a local group of gentlemen with sportbikes. Because I've been working so much I haven't had time to adjust the suspension or buy boots so I could wear my one piece leather suit. We started up with a nice spirited ride through the country side and I knew where we were headed... to some really twisty roads. The bike was feeling AWESOME and much lighter and faster turning than before. I was just having the best time once the tires were warmed up. Yet I started pushing a little more and a little more... Soon I was up to a very fast pace and 2nd in line in our group. I really whipped it into a turn with full confidence as I had near new super sticky Dunlops on and such...

The problem? I DIDN't STIFFEN UP THE FRONT FORKS!!! I was off the brakes in order to keep the suspension at neutral as best as I could upon entry and then just a tad of throttle to keep thing balanced and moving forward. I could just really feel the front starting to go and I remember thinking, "here we go... just like I see them do on tv.". It's frustrating to watch a racers wheel just go out from under the front end in a turn. Now I know how it really feels. I never thought it was going to happen when I was entering that turn. I'm sure I could have rolled right through it if my front end was more stiff. But my speed was just fast enough to bottom the front fork and at the point the front tire just lost it's grip. I remember everything down to the finest detail. I read the yellow logo on my tires as I leaned over and tucked into a slide.

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Unread 03-24-2008, 07:06 PM
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The result? I'm in the market now for a tank, front faring, rear tailsection... and I'll be putting down a new custom paintjob which will be trick. I can't wait. Of course it will be better than before and I just never liked the idea of riding around on a black motorcycle. I have always had white and bright yellow bikes and very good luck in traffic, not getting run over.

I basically slid on my WALLET across the road and then rolled on my knee, tearing my jeans and giving me a VERY minor amount of rash... didn't hardly break the skin. The road was completely clean from gravel and me and my bike came to a stop in some soft green country grass. Any riding pants would have kept me untouched. My fellow riders were completely shocked to see me just stand up and roll my bike behind a tree. I am the lucky bastard of the month for sure!!:lol: They say my bike vaulted up into the air quite high. How I would pay to have that on video.

I learned more from this experience that will probably save my life in other situations so I'm very thankful my injuries were so minor. My OZ rims and suspension are untouched and my exhaust is even salvageable!! woot! Sato foot pegs are in great shape as well, phew.. I'm going to have to consider some race plastics as I want to take the speed to the track and keep the street riding at a more relaxed pace. Live and learn friends! What an awesome bike...

Here we are at the coffee shop a short time before.


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Unread 03-24-2008, 07:12 PM
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Back to the shop... dammit~! I thought I was done working on it for a while. So I went from this -


To this -


Ah man I know I know. I have only had my mille for 5 months... put under 1000 slow miles on it before I put the new suspension and all the aftermarket stuff on. I've been working so hard getting the bike in shape and busy with my job and stuff I haven't had time to go get some good pants! Lame excuse and I have full leathers but I don't have boots yet. I got rid of my older riding gear. I've been riding forever but just got back into streetbikes last year. I took 2 years off from owning one.

I haven't had one day off in the last 2 weeks to go grab some pants and I was was seriously going to. I was just initially going out today for a shake down. You know how that goes. The bike felt great like it should and everything was going perfect. All I can say is that I need to keep the hot corner speeds on the track from now on. Laying an Aprilia down will put you in the poor house. What a fast machine though. h34r:

I didn't even brush off the dirt yet. When I wipe it down it will look much better. The Left side is looking undamaged.

The Short List:
  • New Composite Tank
  • New Front Upper
  • New Tail Section
  • Paint... mmm paint!
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Unread 03-24-2008, 07:38 PM
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The first thing that went through my mind when I lowsided (besides checking my wounds) was, "OH NO! THERE GOES MY NEW WHEELS AND OHLINS..." Man I was sweating it! But lucky me, there isn't one scratch on them. I was sweating it!

The Sunday ride was actually the first ride that I was able to stretch the engine out some and attack some corners. Of course the bad part was that it was the first ride on my newly installed Ohlins. I pushed a little too hard of course. It was also the FIRST day I got to ride on the new OZ's as well so I'm ecstatic that they were untouched.

About the new color scheme: I'm wanting to paint it a flame/orange/red with black. I am considering this color off the new Hayabusa - http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/GSX1300RK8. I've always had great luck riding light colored bikes and this paint is pretty nice in person. I'll have to get busy with some Photoshop tools.

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Unread 04-03-2008, 08:10 PM
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Here is a real world shot of the paint scheme I'm liking. The problem is that the parts that I'm getting will already match my black and fluorescent bellypan as they are! So I'm thinking that I'll just be putting my bike back together and not painting the whole thing like I had been planning. Hmmm it depends on the front faring and how the side panels will look when I get em.

But I like this paint color for some reason...


Props to Micah @ AF1 Racing/Apriliaforum.com for hooking up the fine picture. w00t! Click on the link for a sample of some fine motorcycle pictures from the best bike shop out there.
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Unread 09-23-2008, 08:18 AM
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My crash was back in March... fast forward to September now.

SO I had a great Sunday yesterday out ridin around with the guys. We had a very good ride with no problems other than my bike not wanting to start one time when it was hot. The Aprilia doesn't want to start, stop, start too much when it's hot. I've been warned that the relays go out BUT one time I actually noticed that my battery cable had vibrated loose! MAKE SURE YOUR BATTERY CABLES are nice and tight and I'm actually putting some lock-tite on mine! Anyhow life is good.

While you are here reading about my lowside excursion here on this forum thread I would also like to mention once again that my crash was in no way related to the Dunlop tires I was running. After yesterdays very spirited ride I am totally confident in these Dunlop Qualifier tires that I have been running. Here is a picture of the finishing blow that I put to these tires over the weekend. I was really surprised at how well they worked even when I wore them down to nothing! I went into a corner SUPER hot while I was following a friend on his Triumph Speed Triple as I thought (as well as he thought) that he knew the road up ahead over a blind crest in the road. Well we both stuck our feet out like we were both about to do some flat tracking! And we almost did but we just whipped it through the turn and soldiered on.

My suspension was way too soft and I had been riding super smooth through the turns making sure I didn't touch on the brakes which was causing it to seahorse back and forth in a turn. I have since gotten help from a pro and my dampening was almost wide open. Now everything has been changed and my bike is a completely different handling machine. More on that in another thread.

I had NO room left on this tire to push any harder through that turn! Walking a tight line indeed. =o Thank goodness for the Aprilia's super fine handling and these Dunlop Qualifier tires holding in there for me!


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